Siriusly In Love
by RandomSelection
Summary: Sequel to 'A Clever Plot Gone Wrong': Lily and James are happy together, but what about Sirius? And what about the mysterious scent he smelled in the Amortentia? Will he find love at last? SB/OC, JP/LE
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

'Sirusly In Love' is the direct sequel to 'A Clever Plot Gone Wrong', and to understand this story, I advise you to read the other one first (it's fun, I promise!). If, however, you don't want to, here's a summary of what happened ... if you _do_ intend to read 'A Clever Plot Gone Wrong',

**STOP READING NOW !!**

or you'll spoil all the fun.

Well, what happened in 'A Clever Plot Gone Wrong' basically is this: Snape slips Lily love-potion, making it look like it was James, in order to get him expelled. That obviously doesn't work, for not only do the Marauder's uncover his plot and trick him into confessing to Dumbledore, but Lily and James get together, too. There are also two OCs: Tara, now Remus' girlfriend, a really smart girl who has been made Honorary Marauder, and Rebecca. She was with Sirius for a short time, but when she accused James of having taken advantage of Lily while she (Lily that is) was under the influence of _Amortentia_, Sirius broke up and has refused to talk to her ever since.

Those, I think, are the most important facts, you should be able to follow the story now - but a summary can in no way compete with a full story, so yet again: Just read 'A Clever Plot Gone Wrong' first ... you won't regret it. And don't forget to review!

But now let's find out what happened after the most memorable events in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Events that left most of the Hogwarts-students stunned and speechless, that made Sirius, Remus and Tara smile with happiness, that brought to Lily the fulfilling of a dream ... and that made one James Potter shed tears of joy. We find our friends in the Gryffindor common-room, in the evening of the same day ...


	2. The Beginning

**A/N****: **Hey, I know it took me ages to come up with this, but here it is: The fist chapter! And for beta-ing this, my thanks go to the unchallenged master of embarassing Lily Evans in public, fabulous Siriusly Klutzy! (If there are any mistakes in these lines, it's entirely my fault!)

**Siriusly In Love**

Chapter 1

James and Lily, Remus and Tara, and Sirius were sitting in a semi-circle in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. They didn't talk - there was no need. They were content simply sitting there together, enjoying each others company.

Sirius smiled to himself. Far from feeling left out - being the only one single and all - he was really happy for his friends. He looked at James and his smile widened. Never before had he seen his friend like this: His arm around Lily's shoulders, he glowed with happiness and couldn't stop looking at her. At the same time his expression was a little unsure, as if he feared it might just be a dream, like it had been so many times before. That he was about to wake up and Lily would be gone.

Sirius bent forward. "Hey, Prongs," he said quietly. "Trust me. It is real."

James looked at him, surprised. "You know me too well, Pads," he answered, and his voice was heavy with a mix of different emotions: Happiness, gratitude, friendship. "Thank you."

Sirius was about to answer when the portrait-hole was opened and Rebecca entered the common room. She did not look at the group next to the fire, but made her way directly to the stairs that led up to the girls' dormitories. Sirius watched her, and suddenly he felt a sharp sting of guilt. He had treated her really badly! She had hurt him, and he was still angry that she had thought that James was capable of hurting Lily, but he had his share of mistakes, too, and far worse than her.

He cleared his throat. "Ah, Rebecca… would you, maybe … like to join us?"

She literally flinched when he addressed her, and his guilty feeling increased. "Are you… serious?" He could hear in her voice that she'd been crying.

"Yes, I am. In both ways." He got up and got himself another armchair. "Come on. Sit."

"Thanks…"

Suddenly, the silence was awkward, and Sirius could tell that everybody felt it. Rebecca didn't look at anybody, but stared into the fire, apparently unsure of what to say, and none of the others were as relaxed as they had been moments ago. He felt tense, too. Things couldn't just go back to normal - whatever 'normal' meant anyway. They could not forget what had happened, or pretend to do so. But that, he realized, meant that he had to talk to Rebecca about it, explain to her why he had reacted the way he had, and that was something he'd never done before! He usually didn't bother to explain himself to girl he dated, he just dumped her and went on. But this time it was different, for it affected his friends as well. And for another reason: He liked Rebecca. Sure, the scents he'd smelled in the _Amortentia_ didn't have anything to do with her. But still, if he wanted them to remain friends (and he was quite sure he did), he had to do something for it. And even if it wouldn't work, she at least deserved an explanation.

When Sirius Black had come to this conclusion - after some serious struggling with the (to him) entirely alien concept of explaining his behaviour to a _girl_- he looked up and realized that, although this sophisticated mental operation had at least taken ten minutes, nothing had changed. The silence was still awkward, Rebecca still avoided looking at anybody, and the others still felt uneasy. And that was not fair, especially to Prongs and Lily. Especially today! It was _their_ evening, they shouldn't think about anything than each other. Sirius quickly shook his head to stop that cheesy train of thoughts. _They're effecting me more than I thought!_ And to prevent further intellectual degeneration - _Yeah, I know some polysyll …syllala … some complicated words!_ -, he decided to act immediately. He got up (which startled everybody) and looked at Rebecca.

"Let's go for a walk." The tall black girl simply nodded and followed him out of the portrait hole.

When the portrait hole had closed, James let out a long breath. "I didn't think it would be that difficult," he said to no one in particular.

"Tell me about it." For the first time this evening Lily didn't look happy. "I told her we were okay, and I meant it, but …" She fell silent.

"You have to give yourself time, Lily," Remus said wisely. "You and Rebecca. It's like James said, your friendship has been damaged, you have to rebuild it step by step."

"Yes, o wise Master Moony," James said and bowed his head solemnly. Then he grinned at his friend. "Honestly, where do you get that stuff from? Have you eaten fortune-cookies lately?" Lily and Tara giggled.

Remus glared at him, but only for a moment. Then he grinned, too. "No, but you remind me."

"Do you think they'll get back together?" Lily asked after a while.

"No," both boys said without a seconds hesitation. She looked at them, surprised.

"How can you be so sure?"

Remus and James exchanged a quick glance. Then the latter looked at his girlfriend. "I can't tell you, Lily. I'm sorry! It's not that I wouldn't want to or don't trust you, but it's not my part to tell ..."

But she silenced him. "It's okay, James. I don't need to know, if it is confidential." She smiled at him. "I always knew that you were a loyal friend, even when I didn't know anything else about you. And it was about the only positive thing I gave you credit for."

"Oh, something has changed there, I take it?" he asked playfully.

Lily pretended to ponder his question. "Well, now you mention it … I think I could find one or two positive things about you. When looking closely enough!" She smiled at him again.

James pulled her even closer and buried his face in her hair. "I'm glad you do," he whispered. "Took you long enough!"

About half an hour had passed when the portrait hole opened again and Rebecca entered. She looked sad and miserable, yet somehow more relaxed than before. The two couples looked at her, and she tried to smile. "I'm all right, guys … or I will be."

"So you and Sirius aren't…"

"…back together? No." Her voice trembled, and she wiped the tears away that started flowing again. "But it's okay. I … I don't like it, but I can understand. She sat down and stared into the fire again.

Nobody spoke for a long while, and when she did, she seemed to talk to herself rather than to the others. "He was really caring … said he liked me, but that it wouldn't work out, maybe _because_ he liked me. He said he didn't want it to be just another meaningless affair, just having fun with no strings attached. He said he couldn't go that way with me… And he explained why he had been so angry…" Rebecca looked up just in time to see James and Remus exchange a worried glance. "You know about _that_, don't you?"

Both boys nodded, and James said, "It wasn't your fault, Rebecca. It's just …"

"I know. It doesn't hurt less because of it, but I do understand." She sighed. "I wish he'd let me help him … but that's not my part. It seems I'm not the one for him to do that. I only wish …" She started crying again, and Tara laid a comforting arm around her.

Remus looked at the crying girl intensely, his expression showed worry, as did James's. "Rebecca … how is he?"

"Not good. Sad, angry, afraid … you should go and look for him." James and Remus rose at once - and looked at their girlfriends a little guiltily. James especially didn't feel good about leaving Lily on her own on their first evening as a couple. "Lily …"

"Off you go!" she ordered, being playful again. When he hesitated and opened his mouth to explain, she dropped that playful manner. "It's all right, James," she said seriously. "Sirius is your friend, and he needs you now, so go on and look for him. There'll be other possibilities for us to cuddle in front of the fireplace, and there are a lot of evenings lying ahead! I'm not going to feel second best, and I'm certainly not being mad at you for looking after your best mate. In fact, I would be mad if you didn't! You wouldn't be yourself it you didn't!"

James looked at her for some seconds, then took her hand in his and kissed it, even bowing a little while he did. "You're just wonderful, Lily", he said earnestly. "I've known it all along, and yet you never cease to impress me!" He kissed her hand again then left with Remus, leaving behind a blushing and beaming Lily Evans.


	3. Dark Thoughts

**My thanks go to Siriusly Klutzy for betaing this!**

**And to Hungarian Witch: Don't worry, Siriusly Klutzy assured me that correcting my chapters wouldn't delay the updates of 'A Stag In The Wandlight' (as proven today!)**

Chapter 2

They found Sirius where they knew they would, standing at the Black Lake and staring out into the night. He didn't turn round when he heard them approaching, so they just stood next to him and looked out at the dark surface of the lake. After a long while Sirius said, very quietly, "I'm never gonna find somebody."

Neither James nor Remus were surprised by this sudden and apparently random statement, for they had had conversations like this many times before. Also, many times before, they had tried to console their friend, and it worked- for some time. That is until the dark thoughts would return and block out all hope.

"You don't know that, Sirius," James said now. "Look at me. Who would have guessed that one day Lily would agree to be my girlfriend? Sometimes I don't even believe it myself! I hoped and I dreamed and I told everybody how I was absolutely sure I was going to win her over one day, but there were moments when I, deep in my heart, had lost hope, when I was convinced I was just fooling myself. You know that, both of you, because I told you. And you helped me, helped me through, told me not to give up ... I couldn't have done it without you two! And look where I am now!"

"Out in the dark, instead of being inside with your girlfriend."

"I'm with my friends. We are there for each other, that's what friends do. And don't worry about Lily, it's not like I have to choose between you and her - as a matter of fact, she sent me to look for you!"

Sirius looked at him for the first time. "She did?" James nodded, and the ghost of a smile appeared on Sirius' face. "She's a great person."

"Yeah, she is."

"And you're lucky to have her."

"I know I am."

"Took you long enough."

"You're telling me."

Again they stood silently for some time. "It's different with you and her," Sirius said. "You knew she was the one for you. There's no one for me."

"You don't know that," James said again. "How could you? I'm sure there is. What about that scent?"

Sirius gave a dry laugh, but there were neither mirth nor hope in it, just sadness and resignation. "I knew you'd say that. Do you know what exactly it is that you smell in _Amortentia_? The scent that attracts you most in the world. Or me, in that case. It doesn't say anything about the person the smell belongs to loving me back - she might not even like me. That scent is my worst nightmare."

"Why should somebody not like you, Sirius? You're a great friend - even Lily says so, now that she's gotten to know you better. And the girls ..."

Sirius laughed again, harsh and bitter this time. "_The girls,_" he spat. "Leave me alone with _the girls_! They just drool over me because of my looks - they don't expect anything else from me than a snog or a shag. None of them know anything about me, because they never cared to find out if there was anything worth knowing. I don't blame them, it's my fault I made myself the man-whore of Hogwarts."

"Don't say that!" James always got angry when he was forced to watch his friend hurt himself this way, and that particular name was one of the worst. "It's not true, and you know it! And if you don't, I do! Remus does! And Peter! And Lily, and Tara, and ..." He hesitated. "What about Rebecca, anyway? I don't think she was just after a quick shag. And if it's true what she told us, you don't think so, either..."

"Don't you see? That's just the point! I know she likes me! She'd get too attached, put too much heart into the whole thing, and I ... I'm not in love with her, but I like her - too much to hurt her that way. She's better off without me!"

Remus spoke for the first time. "Now I know why you called that scent your worst nightmare, Sirius. You're not afraid of the girl it belongs to not loving you back, it's just the other way around. What scares you is the possibility that she might actually like or even love you. That she might be interested in _you_, not because of your looks, but because of the person you are. You think that when she falls in love with you, and you with her, it would be unavoidable for you to hurt both her and yourself."

Sirius didn't answer, but it wasn't necessary.

"You're wrong," Remus said simply. "You hear me, Sirius? You - are - wrong! There is no reason in the world why you should not be able to have a completely normal and happy relationship! Not a single one!"

Sirius stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "No reason?" he croaked. "_No reason?_ There are thousands of reasons! And they all come back to one! I'm a far too twisted person to have anything remotely close to a _normal relationship_! My parents made sure of that."

Now, James and Remus knew, they had reached he center of everything, the core of all of Sirius' fears and problems. It always came back to this: His family.

"I've never known a _normal relationship_! Blacks don't do _normal relationships_! That word simply does not exist in our dictionary, and the concept is as alien to us as it comes! In our language, _relationship_ is another word for weakness, no matter who it's between! Man and wife, parents and children, brother and... _Relationship _is defined as a matter of power, the power one has over another. And to achieve power, we manipulate, we deceive, we lie, and we hurt. _That's_ what _relationship_ means in my world!" The last words he almost shouted. Breathing heavily, he turned away from them, hiding his tears, although he knew there was no need. Very quietly they heard him say, "There's no love for me. And if I ever found somebody who loved me, I'd make sure to push her away as hard as I could. Because every girl who had feelings for me would get hurt - and every girl I had feelings for I'd want to be protected. From me."

"You're wrong," Remus said the third time. "Don't you see? Blacks don't do normal relationships, you say, and relationship was a matter of power in your world. But you're not a _Black_, Sirius, not in that sense, and their world is not your world! You are the Black that was sorted into Gryffindor. You are the Black that doesn't care about purity of blood, the Black that is friends with a werewolf! And you do relationships, Sirius - or does friendship not count as a relationship in your eyes? I don't recall you manipulating or deceiving us …" He grabbed his friend's shoulders. "Listen to me, Sirius, and do listen closely. You are _not_ like them! You freed yourself from them, and they have no power over you. You are a great person and a great friend, and you deserve to be loved just like everybody. And you will be."

Now Sirius didn't try to hide his tears. "Do you really ... think I will?" he whispered.

"Yes, I do."

"And so do I."

He sighed heavily. "I'm scared, guys. You tell me my family holds no power over me, but I'm afraid they do... It's buried deep inside me, and I fear it might break free some day, come to the surface. I fear that if I really meet someone one day, I'll screw up and, like you said, Remus, hurt both of us. And I don't know if I could stand it!"

They laid their hands on his shoulders, each at one side, and Remus said, "Don't worry, my friend, you won't be alone when the day comes. And we will talk some sense into you, if it's necessary ..."

"Yeah, or even knock it into you if we have to!" James added.

Sirius drew a deep breath. "Thank you, guys," he said. "I do feel much better now." He turned towards the castle. "Now let's get back inside, or both your girls will be after my blood."


	4. You've Got Mail

**AN****: Yes, I know it has been ages since my last update … I really had no time to continue this story, but I promise I'll try to update sooner. My thanks again to my beta, Sirusly Klutzy!**Chapter 3: You've got mail!

When they returned to the common room, they were met by four pairs of eyes belonging to Lily, Tara and Rebecca, who looked at them, questioning and concerned. The fourth was a beautiful owl's, which sat at the empty armchair James had left earlier, right next to Lily. It hooted happily when the boys climbed through the portrait-hole, and all three stopped dead, surprised.

"Athena!" James called, and the owl spread its wings. Without making a sound, it landed on his outstretched arm. He gently stoked its feathers while they made their way to the fireplace.

Rebecca half rose and looked at Sirius. "You all right?" He gave her a sad, but reassuring smile.

"I will be," he said, unknowingly choosing the same words she had used earlier. "You?"

Her smile mirrored his. "About the same. "

James was still stroking the owl. "She's my parents'," he told the others. "There was a letter, I suppose?"

Lily blushed. "Ah, yes, I have it!" she said quickly and handed him the small envelope. "The owl wouldn't stop hooting, so I took it off, but of course I haven't ..."

"Lily, relax!" He smiled at her. "I know you haven't read it, and it was good that you removed it because Athena is really persistent when it comes to fulfilling her duty – which can be a little annoying at times- ouch!" The small brown owl had pecked his finger at this. "... but it generally is a really admirable train of character for an owl!" he added quickly.

Everybody laughed, and Lily, very audibly, whispered: "Seems to be a family trademark. Persistence ..."

James sat down and laid his arm (the free one) around her shoulders. "Are you complaining or something?"

"Not at all," Lily murmured and snuggled up at him – but jerked away the very moment, because Athena had hooted loudly and obviously annoyed, and even made an attempt to peck her, if only half-hearted. The group laughed again, even Sirius and Rebecca joined in, and Lily grumbled.

"Great! Now I have a bird trying to steal my boyfriend!" she said, a comment that made her friends laugh even harder.

"You don't fear the competition, do you, Lily?" Tara asked, and James (after handing the jealous owl to Sirius) now laid both arms around the redhead.

"Have no fear," he assured her, grinning. "There's enough room in my heart for both of you … ouch!" Lily had (of course!) punched him into the stomach, but she was smiling nonetheless.

"Now listen up there, Missy," she said with mock seriousness, addressing Athena, who seemed to enjoy greatly that Sirius stroked her, "that boy's mine now, and I'm not sharing!"

There words were followed by a sudden silence, and when Lily looked at James again, laughter in her eyes, his expression was … strange, unreadable, almost shocked. "James what …"

She looked around, confused. All eyes were directed at her, the expressions equally serious.

"What? Did I say something stupid?" She looked at her boyfriend again, now concerned. "James?"

But it was Remus who answered, and he was smiling. "Sorry if we scared you, Lily. But, let me put it this way. We're not used hearing something like that from you, and it might take some time before we will be. Especially James," he added with a chuckle.

"That's right," James confirmed hoarsely. "Never thought I'd be hearing words like that from you, never hoped …" He looked away, embarrassed.

And then Lily kissed him. She didn't think about it, she just acted. It wasn't a long and passionate kiss, not the type where lips clash and tongues enwind, with drum rolls in the background, but just a simple kiss: short, sweet, gentle – and perfect.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "Sorry about all the times I hurt you!"

For the second time on this day James Potter felt tears in his eyes – and he wasn't even sure why. There were the memories of all the pain Lily's countless rejections had caused him, all the hurt he had never allowed to surface, always hidden away inside him. There was the happiness and joy when she'd agreed to go out with him. That he was able to hold her close, to feel her, to … and there was this kiss, their first kiss. Yes, it was their first kiss, the others didn't count, for it hadn't really been Lily who'd kissed him then. But just now she'd done it out of her own free will, and that almost overwhelmed him.

"It's …" But he had no idea how to voice his turmoil of emotions, so he kissed her, too. And just a little longer.

Their friends were smiling. _About time!_ And instead of yelling something like "Get a room!" like he'd done normally, Sirius just cleared his throat and asked, "Want me to read that letter for you, Prongs?"

Without breaking the kiss, James threw the envelope in his direction, causing Tara to giggle, because it looked quite funny. Sirius opened it, took out a piece of parchment and started reading out loud:

_Dear James_ ,

_How are things at Hogwarts? Is anyone left there besides Sirius, yourself, and Lily? I have to admit, it's a little strange not to have you boys with us at Christmas, and Kitty has asked for you, too. (She said something about not being used to have a quiet Christmas … I think she was referring to Sirius in particular …)_

"Oi!" Sirius shouted, faking annoyance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just go on reading, Padfoot," said Remus, while the others laughed. Even James and Lily were listening now; the latter had a little frown on her face.

"All right, all right!"

_And she's not the only one. Mrs. Petersen has brought us loads of home-made __cookies (she has tried a new recipe for something called 'gingerbread', and it's delicious!). Chris and Adam are really disappointed (you promised to give them re-match of the last year's snowball fight, remember?), and I think Lisa is really looking forward to testing her newly acquired flirting-skills on our favorite bachelor (I'm talking about Sirius, of course – you know that she won't look at you twice when he's around…)_

At this, all the tree boys started to laugh, while the girls looked at them, confused. "What's so funny?" asked Lily. There was something of an edge in her voice. "As long as this… Lisa only flirts with Sirius…"

At this, James and Sirius only laughed harder, but Remus took pity in her. "Lily, Lisa lives next door and is twelve years old."

"Oh." That was all Lily said, because she felt herself blushing.

"And she really admires our dear Padfoot here," Remus continued. "It's cute."

"You're just jealous, Moony!" announced Sirius. "Just because the girls …" He flinched as if someone had hit him. For a moment, he closed his eyes and his friends saw an expression of sadness flicker over his features. Then he cleared his throat again (it sounded like a dry sob) and continued reading:

_You see, everyone in Grodric's Hollow is missing you – and so do we. To make a long story short: Why don't you and Sirius come home over Christmas? I know that you want to stay be-_

Suddenly, completely out of the blue, James launched himself at Sirius, obviously trying to wrestle the letter away from him. Everybody jumped in surprise – everybody but Sirius, who somehow seemed to have anticipated this. He smoothly evaded his friend's attack by slipping out his armchair just in time, and so James collided with it, toppled over, and crashed to the floor. And while Lily stared in shock at her boyfriend, who was lying in the floor, pulling a face and rubbing his left knee, while Remus just shook his head, grinning, while Tara and Rebecca stared at James as if he'd lost his mind, and Athena hooted angrily, because Sirius' sudden movement had forced her to take flight rather abruptly – while all these things happened, Sirius Black, grinning like a fool, continued reading without missing a beat.

… _because Lily is staying, too, but why don't you just ask her to come, too? We'd really like to get to know her, since you __haven't stopped talking about her since third year! And stop rolling your eyes, I'm sure it won't go that badly, just try! _

_If you want to come (with her or not), just talk to Albus. He has agreed to let you use the floo-network. We really hope you both will come!_

_Love, Mum and Dad_

_P.S.: Our best whishes for a happy Christmas (and a hug!) to Remus! Of course, he's welcome, too, if he wants to come! Lisa might even lose interest in Sirius at the prospect of her 'Remmy' telling stories about all the fantastic books he has read!_


	5. Decisions

Chapter 4: Decisions

There was an interesting situation now in the Gryffindor common room. Sirius was cracking up with laughter at this last twist the letter had taken, Remus was blushing faintly, James was crimson, Lily was staring at him open-mouthed, Tara watched the embarrassment of her boyfriend with an amused smile, and Rebecca seemed to have forgotten her misery for now; she was laughing with Sirius.

"You …" Lily spoke first. "You stayed because of _me_?"

James seemed determined to look anywhere else but at his girlfriend. He slowly got up and occupied himself for some time with the armchair he had knocked over. But when he looked up, his gaze met Lily's emerald eyes. "Uhm, yes …" he mumbled, his ears reddening even more. "It … it seemed unusual that you should stay over Christmas. You'd never done that before, and I … I wanted to make sure that you're all right …" He fell silent, because Lily kissed him again.

"You're so sweet!" she whispered after their lips had parted. "How could I've missed that before?"

"I did my best to hide it," James said honestly, "because I thought, you know, that _men_ weren't supposed to be _sweet_ …"

Lily couldn't help but giggle at this, but before she could think about anything to answer Sirius stated, "Okay, let's go!"

Everybody stared at him, and Lily voiced their common thought. "What? Where to?"

"Dumbledore's office, of course!" He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If we hurry, we might still get dinner!"

"You can't possibly still be hungry, Padfoot!"

"You're right, Moony – I'm hungry _again_! And you know quite well that Janet's cooking is delicious!"

"There you've got a valid point, Sirius," Remus admitted. "But I think there's something that has to be resolved here first."

Sirius followed his gaze. "Ah," he said. "I think you're right, Moony. Together for less than a day and already _meeting his parents_ …" He grinned. "So much about _taking things slowly_ …"

_What do I do now? _That was all Lily could think – it was just too much for her. After the emotional roller-coaster ride of this day, after tricking Snape, worrying about Rebecca, becoming James' girlfriend _and_ kissing him for the first time, all she'd looked forward to was a quiet time in front of the fireplace, James' arm around her and her head resting on his shoulder. Resting … a little rest. Was it too much to ask for a little rest?

_Meeting his parents!_ She hadn't even thought about that yet – well, of course not, it had hardy been an issue before today, had it? And even if she might have dreamed about situations vaguely similar, she had certainly not imagined herself tired, emotionally exhausted, hopelessly confused and scared out of her mind, but … simply the complete opposite, whatever that may be. And he had told his parents about her! _Well, that's hardly surprising_, she could hear an annoying little voice inside her head, _considering the fact that _they_ are his parents and _you_ are the girl he has been in love with for years …_ But Lily wasn't in the mood to listen to annoying little voices, she was far too anxious. What if they didn't like her? And how _could_ they possibly like her, since she was the one who had yelled at their son all the time? Hexed him, too? What if he had told them about that one time when … But she lost her train of thoughts when she felt James cupping her face and gently lifting her head so she had no way avoiding his gaze. So she hesitantly looked into his eyes, unsure what she would find there. Was he hurt because of her hesitation, maybe angry? But there was nothing but understanding in these hazel eyes, warmth, care, and …

"Lily," he began now, "it's entirely up to you. If you want to come, I'll be really happy, but I do understand if you don't, if you think it's too early." He smiled at her. "If I was to meet your parents, I'd certainly be nervous like hell, but I assure you that there's no reason for you to be! My parents are going to love you!"

"It's true, Lily," Sirius added. "They are going to like you, and you'll love it there. Janet and Tom are the kindest people in the world, it's impossible not to like them, they're just great!" When he saw her uncertainty, he laid his hand on her shoulder. "You're not sure that you'll be welcome? Well, then let me tell you a story: Last summer-holidays, I ran away from home…" The girls gasped and stared at him wide-eyed, for they'd had no idea, but Sirius just continued. "… before they could kick me out – we had some _political differences_, so to speak, but that's not the point now. Point is that it was a rather … hasty departure, which was why I'd nothing with me but my wand and the clothes I wore. I had no money, no place to stay, and nothing left to turn back to, so I went to Prong's place. I arrived there in the middle of the night, and I … I really felt bad for … you know, everything… Turning up at 3 o'clock, waking everybody and expecting …" He fell silent for a moment. "You know what happened? Janet hugged me welcome and told me the room next to James' had been prepared for me for two years, ever since James had told them about my family!" He looked at James, then back at Lily. "They won't even accept a thank you – Tom always tells me to shut up if I try, and Janet every time manages to distract me somehow …" All three boys laughed about that, evidently remembering one occasion or the other when that had occurred. "And her cooking is delicious!" Sirius added, as an afterthought.

Lily was looking at him. That was yet another part of his personality she had never guessed to exist. She'd always assumed everything was either a joke or a game to Sirius Black – school, pranks, girls- and just now he had not hesitated to show his deep feeling of gratitude and … and _love_ for James' parents, only to make her feel better, take away her anxiety … And why? One reason was that he cared for her; he had shown that quite clearly during this whole affair. But mainly because he knew how happy James would be if she decided to visit his parents with him. And for him, for James Potter, she suddenly understood, Sirius Black was willing to do _anything_, no matter whether it meant exposing his emotions or even stand up to him to protect him from himself. An image came back to her, the memory of Sirius blocking the way when James had wanted revenge … and now she realized that he had not had drawn his wand! He had been willing to take the spell, knowing that his friend, even if in his fury he'd do something like that, he'd never go after Snape and leave him behind injured. _He has to be the most loyal friend in the world!_

Suddenly, Lily felt a little ashamed about herself, about her hesitation. Why, when Sirius was prepared to take a curse for James, shouldn't she be able to overcome her nervousness? What was she afraid of, after all? The way Sirius had described James' parents, they were great people, and how could they not be, being _James' parents_? (The annoying little voice tried to say something about her having thought of James as a bully and an idiot for years, but yet again she refused to listen …) Instead, she made up her mind, looked at her boyfriend who was watching her closely, smiled at him and said, "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

**Well I managed to actually write thw next chapter – great, isn't it? Yet again, Siriusly Klutzy was kind enough to correct all my mistakes, thanks for that! What I have to decide now is whether Remus (and Tara, of course) should go to James', too? What do you think? And if you don't have an opinion, review nonetheless! Thanks, RandomSelection. **


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